Blindly Yours
by katlou303
Summary: Sokka is involved in an accident, and loses his sight temporarily. Zuko finds him, and, unaware of each other's identities, could love blossom from this unorthodox couple?ZukoxSokka, ZuSo,YAOI. Read and review please!
1. Can you see me?

Zuko peered over the ship's edge, wincing as cold flecks of sea hit his face. The air tasted of salt, and the sun was directly ahead.

He turned in time to see his Uncle practicing fire-bending, beckoning his opponents for a second try.

"Uncle!" Zuko shouted, "When will we reach our destination?" The old man looked puzzled for a moment, then suddenly enlightened.

"When the winds take us there." He nodded wisely, gracefully ducking under a soldier's kick. They were headed towards a small island, inhabited by uncivilised fire-benders, who worshipped the resident volcano, which threatened to erupt every day.

Zuko scoffed, resting his hands on the ship's wooden hilt. Uncle had been happier than ever on his ship, a life of cruelty and seeing things that should never be witnessed by anyone sane had made him susceptible to moods, quiet times of contemplation.

Here, with the sea a deep blue colour, mingling with green, and the gulls flying over head, it was hard to think of anything with true meaning.

He suddenly caught sight of an island on the horizon, smoke lazily unfurling from the rocky depths. The sea's colour lightened to aqua, and they braced the ship for smoother waters.

He began shouting orders, hardly able to hide his excitement. He was going to capture the Avatar, right here in his own nation!

Zuko breathed in, smelling sharp salt and the clean sea air. He smiled.

The ship suddenly creaked and the wood made sounds of protest in collision. Zuko rushed to the side and looked over.

A small rowing boat splintered to the side of his ship, piercing tiny holes on the surface.

A boy, round about the Prince's age lay inside, trapped under many wooden beams. He looked as broken as his vessel. A series of cuts and bruises lingered on his face, blood trickling down his chin.

Zuko paused in shock. A tiny rowing boat had managed to stop his ship? He could not contain his suspicion, and ordered for the boy to be brought to him.

Iroh, shadows deepening the wrinkles on his face, whipped his arm in the reluctant soldiers' path, "Prince Zuko, the boy needs medical attention! I suspect a head injury at the very least! Broken ribs, sprained limbs, you must allow him sanctuary on your ship!"

"I mustn't do anything!" He snapped back, fury firing him up, "He could be a spy! What if this is a trap?!"

"Prince Zuko, please listen to reason! He won't be fit for your questioning even if he is a spy!" Iroh pleaded.

Zuko growled in frustration, knowing he had no choice.

"Fine! But make sure he stays out of my sight until he is ready for interrogation!" He stormed into his quarters, slamming the door shut.

Iroh sighed thankfully. He grimaced at the damage.

"Er...Would someone mind giving me a hand with the cleaning?"

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Sokka groaned, lifting his hand up to survey the damage. His head hurt like hell, as well as his left arm and his ribs. He opened his eyes, but was unable to dispel the darkness.

"Stop moving." An annoyed voice suddenly said, close to his ear. Sokka jerked away, surprised, and a hand encircled his wrist.

"You're that water peasant aren't you? The one who fights alongside the Avatar, the non-bending soldier, right?" The voice demanded an almost excited tone in his deep voice.

Sokka found this a bit much. _'Non-bending soldier? Well, at least I have a title,'_ he thought gloomily.

He found his voice and defended himself against the darkness, "I don't know what you mean." He said primly, pointing his nose in a different direction from the voice.

He heard a harsh chuckle, "As far as I'm aware, you're the last boy of your tribe. There is no way there are two non-bending water tribe males from the South Pole."

Sokka made one last attempt to shut the smug voice up, "What the hell would you know! You _aren't_ Water Tribe, how do you know how many males there are?"

The silky smooth voice continued, "I'm looking at him."

Silence reigned, and for the first time, Sokka wondered where he was. This was obviously the fire nation, since the ignorance about other people was evident.

"Who are you?" Sokka asked curiously, still wondering why it was so dark in the room. A small noise, like breath being caught.

"You don't know who I am?" A hand was pushed against Sokka's sweaty forehead, "Have you forgotten everything? Who is the current Fire Lord?"

Sokka grumpily pushed the hand away. "Ozai, duh. Everyone knows that."

"Oh." There was a slightly exhalation of breath, like the other was relieved. Sokka moved to try and stand up, but was quickly thwarted, arms intercepting his shoulders and leaving him quite short of breath.

"Why don't you recognise me?"

Sokka huffed at this stupid question. "It's too dark in here! Where are all the lights?"

The other boy groaned slightly in realisation.

"I think...perhaps...you are temporarily blind."

Sokka's unseeing eyes widened. "Temporarily? Blind? How? What happened?" His voice grew shrill and frightened and he clutched at his face, feeling bandages instead of skin.

"I...wondered why your eyes never focused on anything. It must have happened in the accident."

Sokka lay back on his hard bed, feeling the material under his fingers.

"Damn, what the hell's going on? Where am I? Why am I here? Will I ever see anything again?"

"I don't know..." The voice sounded pitying, "Wait...you don't know who I am, right?"

"Obviously not." Sokka grumbled.

If he had been able to see, he would have seen a slow smile spread across the other's face...

_Perfect._

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"Zuko, eat up, your food's going cold!" Iroh put on his best mumsy voice as Zuko scowled. His uncle was _crazy_, he decided, _crazy_.

Nethertheless, he complied half-heartedly.

The boy was doing fine in the medical bay; he'd grown accustomed to feeling his way around quickly. If anything, he mourned the loss of his boomerang over anything else. Zuko was hard-pressed to find any affectionate feelings for the obnoxious younger boy, but, day-by-day, he slowly opened up and told Zuko more.

He obviously didn't let on to anything Avatar-related, though Zuko knew it was only a matter of time. He would slowly gain his trust, instead of trying to force the information out of him.

Zuko was forced to accept that he was attracted to him; the other boy had many appealing features. For instance, if Zuko said anything that embarrassed him, his cheeks would flush red, and his eyes would brighten, as though he could truly see again.

Also, Zuko liked his fiery nature. Above all else, the boy had spirit and a temper almost as bad as the Prince of fire himself.

Once, Zuko held his fingers up to the boy's cheek, admiring the contrast between their colourings. Despite the fact that, as opposing elements, they were natural born enemies, Zuko found himself growing fond of the boy, and would even go as far as to call him a _friend_.

"Boy! Are you ready to tell me your name yet?" He called, unlocking the medical bay and stepping in. The door was always locked, not only to ensure he could not escape, but also to trust that he was safe.

"Only if you tell me yours." Was the cheeky reply as Zuko made his way up to the bed. The boy was tired, and had even drawn the covers, so as to get some sleep. Zuko was obviously intruding.

He made some vague noise of apology and went to leave. He was stopped almost instantly by warm fingers on his arm. He turned incredulously to the boy, who had the good grace to look bashful.

As though sensing the other's annoyance, he let go and turned his dull eyes away.

"Sorry," He muttered, a hand pressed against his bare chest.

It's only then when Zuko realises the other's barely-clothed state and is horrified to feel heat rushing to his cheeks.

Irritated at this shameful reaction, his embarrassment turns to anger and he rounds on the other boy.

"Where are your clothes?!" He demanded angrily, though more angry at himself.

The boy flinches and coughs, licking dry lips. Zuko's eyes suddenly focus on the newly wet sheen of the softly parted mouth.

"I...c-couldn't find them." His voice filled with humiliation. Zuko looks at the floor in shame. Of course he couldn't. For a moment, Zuko had forgotten that the spirited, highly-strung other boy was blind.

He cleared his throat, disturbing the heavy silence.

"What's your name, boy?"

For a moment, the boy looks as though he will give the same old reply. Something rekindles in his dull eyes, and his mouth opens.

"Sokka. What's yours?"

Like the other, Zuko takes a moment before answering.

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Ooh! I'm back, ha ha!

What happened to make Sokka blind? Where is Aang? Who are the volcano worshippers? Will Zuko tell Sokka who he is? What will Sokka's reaction be?

You'll only find out if you review!

Read and review please!

Ja!


	2. Seeing is believing

"My name is Lee," Zuko lied swiftly, his mind working furiously, "we're aboard a Fire Nation ship, I'm a deck hand."

Sokka snorted in disbelief. "If you're a deck hand, why on earth are you talking to me? Isn't your job to like, swab the decks or whatever?" He made a mopping gesture with his hands.

Zuko scowled, "Yes, but I also have to talk to some of the prisoners who aren't high priority." He winced at his lame excuse, but Sokka seemed to buy it, flopping back down on his wooden seat and complaining about it was too hard as per usual.

He looked down at the smaller boy with interest, once again admiring their differences. Sokka was more slender, less bulky. His hair was chocolate brown and was obviously naturally straight, unlike Zuko's which tended to curl a little at the ends when wet. Sokka's eyes were a piercing sky blue that contrasted against his dark skin. Zuko's eyes were a hot molten gold, and his skin was creamy pale. Sokka's hands were fairly scarred, probably from accidents, not battles. Zuko had the hands of a prince, soft and without calluses.

"Well, Lee. How are my chances of getting out of here?" Sokka asked without a trace of humour in his voice. He stared steadily up in the direction of Zuko's voice.

Zuko paused. "Slim." He said, something unknown slipping into his voice as he stared at his captive friend. Sokka frowned slightly and opened his mouth. He was interrupted by the metal clang of the door opening, and the heavy tread of a soldier.

"Uh, has the prisoner eaten today?" The armoured man asked, standing awkwardly, wanting to salute but knowing it wasn't appropriate.

Zuko had always found talking to the soldiers a little unnerving; as their armour was designed to intimidate all that saw it. "I don't know. Why don't you ask him? He's right there." Zuko pointed at Sokka, slightly irritated. Such useless questions.

"Yeah, I have." Sokka mumbled distractedly, once again moving his hands in front of his eyes, testing his vision.

"I have to go." Zuko stood up, brushing off his armour, impatiently pushing his chair away and walking over to Sokka. He tapped the table to get his attention without startling him, "I'll bring more food later if you get hungry."

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Blackness. Empty, never-ending, stretching out towards infinity blackness. At first, Sokka had been overwhelmed by a claustrophobic terror, horrified at his sudden lack of sight. Then Lee had turned up, with his dignified, refined voice and no-nonsense way of speaking that Sokka had found strangely reassuring. The few other people who ventured down to where Sokka was being held spoke to him hesitantly, or even rudely sometimes.

The only thing that had kept Sokka sane was his daily battle of wits with Lee, who seemed to enjoy his visits too. The food certainly wasn't very good, hardly any meat, mostly soup. His sort of friendship with Lee came with a healthy dose of guilt as well, whenever the older boy came down to talk, Sokka was plagued with thoughts of Aang's current location, and if Katara was alright, and sometimes even if Momo was getting enough food. Sokka and Katara had formed a motherly team, with Katara being the bossy, nagging side and Sokka being the indulgent, worrying side.

Occasionally Lee would come in, reeking of burnt leather and antiseptic cream, and Sokka would demand to know what happened, how he was hurt ect. This always seemed to amuse Lee, but he would duly hold out the injured limb and allow Sokka to fuss and prod with wild abandon.

Sokka had a routine. Every morning he would be tossed from his bed by a particularly violent wave, then he would fumble about and curse a bit, then he would desperately search for his clothes before Lee came to visit. He never seemed to manage it in time and Lee would kindly hand him his clothes (which never seemed to stay in the same place) and turn around to wait until the other got changed. They would chat for a while; Lee would 'subtly' attempt to pry into Sokka's private life and Sokka would 'subtly' rebuke him. Then Lee would be sent for and he would rush off, leaving Sokka alone for about five hours, in which he passed the hours by imagining what Lee looked like. Tall, obviously. Probably one of those girly, posh guys, judging by his voice. Maybe tanned from working up on the deck in the sun all day? He would have to be handsome. Guys like Lee don't come with attitude and an ugly face.

Then he would attempt to sleep on the creaky rust bucket Lee liked to pretend was a ship.

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Zuko examined what he had learnt from Sokka so far. He had written notes after every visit. _'Quiet, but occasionally sarcastic. Enjoys meat greatly. Has a girlfriend – won't tell me her name. Blackmail with meat? No mention of the Avatar as of yet. Father's name: Momo. Mother's: Appa. Must be a water tribe thing. Scrawny, lack of proper training but holds himself with the posture of a warrior (engineer some kind of scenario?) Fusses like a mother hen. Kind.'_

He sat back in his chair, scowling furiously, eyebrows furrowed. His eyes continued to skim over the notes until he groaned in exasperation. One little water tribe warrior shouldn't have such a hold over him. He'd surmised a while ago that if Sokka had any useful information, Zuko's soft approach wasn't going to get him to reveal it. It irritated him that he knew he wasn't going to turn this prisoner over to Zhao, much less his father. His crew had no idea Sokka was a friend of the Avatar's. They'd been told that he was just a water tribe boy, and was being kept to be released at a suitable location. A poor excuse, but Prince Zuko was known to be irrational, so the crew accepted it.

Iroh was humming to himself contentedly at his own desk, papers spilled messily so that the wood could hardly be seen. His fingers were covered in ink and he was smearing little blobs all over the surface of the desk but he didn't seem to mind. Any member of the crew would assume that he was hard at work, but Zuko knew enough to assume he was writing a song or a poem. Funny how such a feared General needed a creative outlet to control his frustrations.

"How is that amusing boy downstairs, Zuko?" Iroh asked suddenly, shrewd eyes flicking over to meet Zuko's. He grinned knowingly and Zuko flushed. Iroh always referred to Sokka as 'that amusing boy' ever since the old man had ventured down to where Sokka was held and the young boy had spent an hour cracking jokes and amusing the old general with a surprising knowledge of old war songs.

"He's fine." Zuko stated without emotion, breaking their eye contact. The embarrassed pale pink flush remained on his face, and he turned away from his uncle, self-conscious. The old man's intelligence discomfited Zuko; he was vaguely worried that he knew more than he was letting on.

Zuko froze. What on earth was he _worried_ about? What was it that he was concerned Iroh knew? _Sokka_, a little voice whispered in his head gleefully. Some dark corner of his mind knew that he was terrified that Iroh had discovered Zuko and Sokka's bizarre sort-of friendship.

Iroh met his eyes with a wide smile.

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Katara brutally cut through the tree's bark with a particularly violent strike of water, arms shaking with exertion, panting. Aang watched silently, sitting cross-legged on the damp grass. Katara thrust her arms forward with one last cry of rage and sliced the wood through completely, and fell to her knees, sobbing, body shaking with wild convulsions.

They were in a dark forest, surrounded by moss-covered trees, the sunlight filtering through the leaves and covering them in patches of light. There was a fine rain falling over both of them, from Katara's fierce strikes of water.

Aang wordlessly knelt by her side and put his arms around her, both of them now thoroughly soaked in Katara's rain. She cried, great choking gasps, and grabbed onto Aang's shirt, pulling the material till it stretched almost to breaking point.

"He'll be fine," Aang said kindly, a serene smile on his face, totally confident in the truth of his words. Katara nodded, face buried in Aang's chest.

A fog began to raise, droplets of water clinging to Katara's eyelashes.

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OK, sorry for not updating for forever – I bet no one will even read this, but I wanted to finish it. Katara isn't going to let Zuko get away with taking Sokka away. There will definitely be a confrontation between those two, and since this is set after Katara became a master waterbender, I'll bet that she'll win

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	3. Seeing for you the first time

Sokka clutched the handle in his hand, breathing hard, adrenaline rushing through his veins. The footsteps grew closer, and he tensed, body against the door. The footsteps stopped. The handle turned slightly in Sokka's tight grip, and he acted instantly. He thrust his weight against the door violently. The solid metal door hit the guard with a dull thud, knocking him out. Sokka checked the man's neck for a pulse, apologised quietly and ran down the corridor.

This is such a stupid plan, Sokka seethed silently, how was he meant to know where to go? He stopped running and pressed himself against the ship's wall. He listened intently. He could hear the sounds of scraping, metal striking metal and fire crackling violently. Voices called out to one another. Sokka breathed in deeply. He smelled cooked fish. It must be the kitchen. A door banged open and footsteps grew near once more. Sokka panicked, hands automatically going to the boomerang that was no longer there.

"I'm telling you. That damned spoiled Prince is gonna have to watch his back! I'm so sick of having to feed that water brat. Why not just throw him overboard where he belongs?" A harsh voice sounded next to Sokka's ear. He leapt away instinctively and held his breath. His sharp ears heard the footsteps pass him by. He heard the other's reply trailing off as they walked away from the crouching water tribe boy. "I guess so. I can't understand why Prince Zuko would…"

Prince Zuko.

This was Zuko's ship.

Zuko, who would almost certainly recognise a friend of the Avatar's.

Sokka remembered Lee's voice shaking slightly whenever Sokka made jokes about escaping. He'd known he was an important prisoner, knew he'd never be able to escape. Sokka swallowed. What did Zuko have planned for him? Nothing nice, that's for sure. He must have used Lee to gain Sokka's trust. His eyes stung at the thought of his patient, kind friend, the only friend he had on this ship, betraying him. Shit. He sank to his knees, no longer caring about being caught.

"_Sokka_?"

Speak of the devil, Sokka thought bitterly.

He lifted his useless, blind eyes. They were filled with tears. He heard Lee gasp and felt him lightly drop to Sokka's height.

"How did you get out here?" Lee asked gently, putting a hand on Sokka's shoulder and rubbing it soothingly, a seemingly unconscious gesture, "Do you need help?"

"Bastard." Sokka said quietly.

"What?"

"You _bastard_!" Sokka screamed in rage, hurling himself upward and swaying drunkenly, not caring if he fell. "You total…you…" He pitched forward. He felt Lee catch him effortlessly, with reflexes above a simple deck hand. Sokka felt one last stab of betrayal before he passed out.

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Zuko tapped his fingers on the oak table. Iroh looked up at the quiet noise. His nephew was sprawled on his chair in a manner unbefitting of a prince, one hand covering his chin and the other tapping a beat on the wood of the table. He was frowning deeply, a sharp crease between his eyebrows. "Uncle," He began, his voice hoarse. He cleared his throat and started again, "Uncle, I need your advice."

Iroh met his nephew's gaze calmly, aware that he was hurting and confused. "I would be honoured to help you, Prince Zuko." He noticed Zuko flinched slightly when he said 'Prince.'

"What would you do, if you had a…friend who was in trouble but there was nothing you could do? If, if there _was_ something you could do, but if you did it, everything would change, for the worse?"

"And if I helped this friend, would they be better off afterwards?" Iroh asked.

"Yes." Zuko answered honestly.

"Then I would do it in a heartbeat." Iroh said simply.

Zuko was silent for a moment, fingers still drumming an uneven rhythm on the table.

"Uncle, it would mean betraying everything I stand for, everything I've been brought up to believe." He said finally, eyes on the table, following the movement of his fingers.

"Zuko, if you do not do it, it seems like it would cause you great pain. I may be advising you to do something against your nature, but the fact that you came to me with this problem tells me that this friend is very important to you." Iroh replied solemnly, ignoring the urge to stretch a hand across the table and still the Prince's stressed, frenzied hand.

The Prince stood abruptly. Without a word to his startled uncle, he strode to the door and opened it. He motioned for a guard to come to him. When the man hesitated, Zuko pulled him in the room without warning. Ignoring the guard's gasp of surprise and his uncle's murmurs of reproach, he closed the door behind the man.

"Now listen…what is your name?" Zuko asked without a shred of embarrassment, every single one of the guards wandered around with the same helmets on, how on earth was he meant to tell them apart?

"G-geming, sir" The man replied.

"An unusual name. I need you to fetch me the water tribe prisoner at once. Also, put the word out that this prisoner is to be treated with the utmost respect and care. He is now my honoured guest, anyone who questions this will be dropped off at the next port." Zuko chanced a glance at his uncle's face and was surprised by the mix of apprehension and pride he saw there.

"No." Geming said nervously. Zuko raised one eyebrow in a manner that said, _do as I say or I will cause you immeasurable pain_. He squirmed under his Prince's steadily irritated look, grateful for the helmet that hid his face. "I mean, yes sir! Right away sir!"

The guard rushed off, relieved at being able to look away from Zuko's increasingly exasperated face.

Zuko's lips quirked up in a rebellious grin as he sat back down. Iroh looked concerned, but held his tongue for his nephew's sake.

"He doesn't know anything, I'm sure of it. He would have told me." Zuko muttered to himself, as though trying to rationalise his snap decision.

Iroh continued to look troubled, and poured some jasmine tea into two cups.

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Sokka's sight had begun to come back. At first it had scared him, a sudden blur of colours and movements that had made him dizzy and frightened. It steadily improved until he could make out whole objects, albeit still fuzzy and unfocused. He knew that his 'blindness' gave him one more advantage if he ever tried to escape. If he was caught, for instance, he could say he was lost and trying to get back to his room. Sokka blinked. Since when had he started to think of his cell as his 'room'? He didn't even know how long he'd been held captive, but it felt like months. Whenever he'd asked Lee, he'd mumbled something vague like, "A while."

Sokka lay back on the thin mattress with a scowl. Lee. The new, tentative friendship they'd been building had ended abruptly when Sokka had realised he was being made a fool of. He'd refused to tell Lee what was wrong, had refused to even talk to him and had spent days alone in his cell, lying on his bed.

He started to think of his family. His mother, brutally murdered by a fire nation soldier. His father, who'd left his children to go fight in a hopeless war. His brave sister, Katara, who was probably searching for him even now. And his new friend, Aang, the Avatar, destined to save the world. Picturing their faces, Sokka felt his eyes grow moist and angrily wiped his eyes.

It was still too painful to think of Yue.

The sound of a key turning in the lock of his cell door had him leaping to his feet, hand automatically searching for the wall.

He was gently helped out of the room by a soldier. He deliberately kept his eyes blank and away from the man holding his arm. To his surprise, the man told him that Prince Zuko had declared that Sokka was now an important guest who was to be treated with care and he was being taken to the prince's quarters. Sokka felt a sense of foreboding. What the hell..? Why would the Prince just suddenly change his mind?

The soldier, with a careful grip on Sokka's arm, led him to a metal door decorated with a fire nation insignia. To Sokka's damaged eyes, it was blurry but still recognisable. With a slight quiver of fear in his stomach, he allowed himself to be directed into the Prince's bedroom.

The room he entered was warmer than the corridor he had stepped in from. Sokka was dimly aware of the soldier at his side bidding the Prince a respectful farewell and exiting the room with little noise. Sokka was too busy gazing at the figure on the bed to notice the door shut behind him with a sharp bang. Zuko was only half dressed, shirt absent, but thankfully his lower half was clothed or else Sokka may have misinterpreted why he had been invited in. The Prince's smouldering golden eyes met his own and he automatically dropped his gaze. He heard the bed sheets rustle and light footsteps coming towards him.

"So," said a sickeningly familiar voice, a voice that made Sokka's stomach twist painfully in recognition, "your eyesight has improved, I see."

A light touch at his chin tilted his head up, and Sokka felt, rather than saw, Zuko's clinical gaze sweep his face.

"L-lee." Sokka stammered.

What may have been a frown twisted the Prince's handsome features, eyes darkening with unidentified emotion. He stepped back from the frozen water tribe boy and sat back down on the edge of his bed. "I had hoped you wouldn't recognise me." He said with a touch of reproach in his voice, as though Sokka had not lived up to his expectations.

"But Lee's my _friend_." Sokka said foolishly, his mind blank in his stunned state. He tried to combine his image of Lee and Zuko. Lee was kind, polite and compassionate, that much was clear from their brief friendship. Zuko, on the other hand, was impatient, rude and malicious, proven by the few meetings he'd had with the Prince before he was captured. He regularly attempted to capture a twelve-year old boy, for God's sake!

Zuko patted the bed, obviously an indication that Sokka should sit down next to him.

He did so after hesitating for a long minute. Part of his apprehension was from the implications of sitting on the other boy's _bed_; the other was a rebellious thought that Zuko was certainly not _his_ prince and Sokka had no obligation to follow his orders.

"I can be your friend." Zuko said carelessly. Through Sokka's dulled eyes, the smile on the other's face looked like a predator baring its teeth. The Prince leant forward, and Sokka felt an unnatural heat from his mouth as he spoke, "If you want." Zuko met his eyes once more, an unmistakable hunger in his golden eyes that even Sokka couldn't miss.

He swallowed.

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Ha! I made out that there'd be all these secrets and suddenly they become common knowledge I hope everyone liked this chapter! Since I never planned on continuing this until recently, I'm unsure of where I want this fic to go. I'd appreciate it if you reviewed with your ideas


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